WEBVTT 00:00.530 --> 00:01.030 OK. 00:01.140 --> 00:06.580 Now let's have a short discussion about common grammar or word choice mistakes. 00:06.630 --> 00:12.130 These are some of the fatal flaws that lower grades. 00:12.420 --> 00:20.670 The most common now academic writing is much different than other forms of writing because in academic 00:20.670 --> 00:23.350 writing you don't write the way you speak. 00:23.370 --> 00:28.740 You don't use slang right do not expect the reader to know what you mean. 00:28.960 --> 00:34.330 Sometimes and in other types of writing you might assume the reader knows what you mean in academic 00:34.330 --> 00:36.370 writing you don't assume anything. 00:37.120 --> 00:37.890 Right. 00:37.990 --> 00:45.070 When you make assumptions or as I like to say when you write in a way that requires influencing if you 00:45.070 --> 00:51.190 write in a way that requires influencing or making inferences you're about to have a problem in terms 00:51.190 --> 00:52.690 of your score. 00:52.780 --> 00:54.280 Don't write in fragments. 00:54.280 --> 00:56.320 Use complete sentences. 00:56.320 --> 01:02.450 Always use standard written English. 01:02.460 --> 01:05.340 Here are some bad habits to avoid in academic writing. 01:05.370 --> 01:15.450 Don't use you having inconsistent purpose a person having inconsistent tense abbreviations using slang 01:15.840 --> 01:21.500 one or Ghana is OK to use that in speaking but not in writing. 01:21.570 --> 01:23.550 Don't use etc.. 01:23.610 --> 01:28.290 Avoid ending verbs with E N or i n instead of i n g. 01:28.520 --> 01:36.520 Waitin watchin some of you might think is funny but I see it a lot. 01:36.600 --> 01:41.460 Be careful with your pronoun antecedent agreement and reference right. 01:41.520 --> 01:48.990 A lot of times students use these pronouns wrong they use them wrongly and so you have to make sure 01:49.020 --> 01:57.560 that you're able to write in a way that uses proper pronouns MECHANICAL RULES never began a sentence 01:57.560 --> 01:59.150 with a number. 01:59.150 --> 02:01.010 Spell it out. 02:01.010 --> 02:04.220 All numbers below 100 should be spelled out. 02:04.220 --> 02:09.320 Those above 100 are optional but you should be consistent. 02:09.630 --> 02:14.040 Here are some commonly misspelled words you have to be careful with right. 02:14.050 --> 02:20.970 I see this very often and you want to make sure that you don't make these simple basic mistakes if there 02:20.970 --> 02:24.890 is any slide that you want to spend some more time looking at. 02:24.890 --> 02:29.430 Just pause the video and you can look at it a little bit longer. 02:29.480 --> 02:33.590 Unnecessary repetition write unnecessary repetition. 02:33.590 --> 02:39.980 Now remember I told you sometimes when being with when being for coherence and cohesion you might have 02:40.460 --> 02:43.910 some parts where you have repetition. 02:43.910 --> 02:46.970 But we're talking about unnecessary repetition. 02:47.390 --> 02:51.630 And so if you are you know being repetitive in your writing. 02:51.680 --> 02:59.550 Look here you know a round circle a circle is automatically round refer back. 02:59.600 --> 03:00.020 Right. 03:01.970 --> 03:04.280 The whole entire world. 03:04.940 --> 03:14.130 If this is the kind of writing that you have to be kind of careful with because it's unnecessary repetition. 03:14.150 --> 03:17.910 Be careful with some words and phrases to avoid. 03:18.170 --> 03:21.010 You want to try to avoid contractions. 03:21.110 --> 03:26.720 This is difficult and even sometimes I might make a mistake and use a contraction. 03:26.720 --> 03:26.990 Right. 03:27.000 --> 03:34.550 Is is this is difficult sometimes because in many of your your English language schools they don't tell 03:34.550 --> 03:37.100 you to avoid contractions in academic writing. 03:38.570 --> 03:44.000 And so sometimes you is that is a really difficult habit to break for even for even a native speaker 03:45.440 --> 03:50.520 avoid beginning sentences with conjunctions right. 03:51.080 --> 03:52.020 There are no such. 03:52.030 --> 03:54.610 Be careful with words that don't exist. 03:54.610 --> 04:02.470 Be careful of capitalizing words that should not be capitalizing so these are some of the things that 04:03.010 --> 04:10.090 you have to be careful with in terms of words and phrases to avoid is very important that you know your 04:10.090 --> 04:16.580 parts of speech and use your parts of speech correctly. 04:16.580 --> 04:19.710 Here are some more specifics in terms of errors. 04:19.960 --> 04:24.670 Fragments o fragments right. 04:24.820 --> 04:30.230 You've got to be careful with fragments look at these examples of fragments first the lack of exercise 04:31.620 --> 04:33.060 period. 04:33.120 --> 04:34.100 Well what about it. 04:36.310 --> 04:37.450 Okay what about it. 04:37.450 --> 04:38.880 That's a fragment. 04:38.920 --> 04:39.850 What are you talking about. 04:39.850 --> 04:50.430 What about what about the lack of exercise although the number falling for example fast foods we things 04:50.430 --> 04:51.960 in oily food. 04:51.960 --> 04:53.060 These are fragments. 04:53.070 --> 05:00.220 When it says fragment it means you have a period and it's an incomplete thought very often this happens 05:00.250 --> 05:06.430 because a student can't write compound sentences correctly in complex sentences correctly. 05:06.430 --> 05:10.660 And when you're not able to do that you end up writing fragments. 05:10.660 --> 05:17.380 Now here you can look at these examples and you can see how those sentences will be written so that 05:17.380 --> 05:26.890 they're not fragments comma splices comma splices our type of run on sentence write their sentences. 05:26.890 --> 05:32.440 This should be separate but our join with a comma run on their sentences that should be separate but 05:32.440 --> 05:40.170 are joined anyway right in the past people did not have cars they used to walk right. 05:40.180 --> 05:42.700 Why is this a run on right. 05:42.760 --> 05:45.240 Because there is there. 05:45.280 --> 05:49.030 There should be something there's there's there's no proper comma placement 05:52.150 --> 05:55.100 heart disease is a big problem and kills thousands of people. 05:55.150 --> 05:59.410 Heart disease is a big problem because it kills thousands of people 06:02.200 --> 06:11.100 modern our our modern life is very easy jobs are easier than they were 50 years ago because since right 06:11.730 --> 06:20.430 so very often an essay writing a C comma splices and commas places are a huge huge grammatical mistake 06:20.910 --> 06:30.120 that you have to stop doing right you can go ahead and these are some ways there you can fix comma splice 06:30.120 --> 06:38.190 problems right you can use a period you can use a semicolon you can use a comma and in coordinating 06:38.190 --> 06:44.070 conjunction or you can use a subordinating conjunction you're coordinating conjunctions are compound 06:44.070 --> 06:51.930 sentences your subordinate conjunction subordinating conjunctions are complex sentences right but these 06:51.930 --> 06:59.670 are for ways that you can practice being able to avoid comma splices it all comes from writing sentences 06:59.670 --> 07:01.150 correctly. 07:01.380 --> 07:07.380 Now if you're just using a lot of periods doesn't it make you fall more into these simplistic type of 07:07.380 --> 07:12.330 writing and you won't get a really high score for it you'll be correct but you won't get a really high 07:12.330 --> 07:18.780 score for it if you're using method three a method for you're going to get a higher score for doing 07:18.780 --> 07:19.530 it correctly 07:22.160 --> 07:28.370 these are some examples of how to fix comma splices so again if you need to stop the screen right here 07:28.670 --> 07:34.010 and take a look at how we fixed these comma splices look at look at a and then look at the examples 07:34.010 --> 07:38.760 of how we fixed the comma splices. 07:39.200 --> 07:42.380 Here are a few more comma splice examples. 07:42.380 --> 07:42.820 All right. 07:45.500 --> 07:47.660 You can look and see how these things were fixed 07:52.570 --> 07:53.770 run on sentences 07:56.640 --> 08:01.560 a run on sentence is a sentence comprised of two or more independent clauses not properly separated 08:03.100 --> 08:03.470 right. 08:03.470 --> 08:07.440 So again we're talking about really comma splices again. 08:07.640 --> 08:13.460 It happens because there's a lack of punctuation or conjunctions incorrect punctuation a comma splice 08:14.220 --> 08:22.760 write a run on sentence is not simply a long sentence. 08:22.850 --> 08:24.820 My favorite Mediterranean spread is hummus. 08:24.830 --> 08:29.180 It is very garlic de what's the problem here. 08:30.340 --> 08:37.530 Because since or period it is nearly half past five. 08:37.620 --> 08:41.650 We cannot reach town before dark. 08:41.880 --> 08:43.210 You're missing a conjunction. 08:43.210 --> 08:43.800 So 08:48.790 --> 08:50.330 I have to go to the store. 08:50.500 --> 08:52.170 I need to buy milk. 08:52.180 --> 08:54.010 You even have to be very simplistic. 08:54.400 --> 08:56.560 I have to go to the store period. 08:56.560 --> 08:56.890 I have. 08:56.890 --> 08:57.820 I need milk. 08:57.820 --> 08:58.710 I need to buy milk. 08:58.720 --> 08:59.260 Period. 08:59.290 --> 09:02.350 Or to get a higher score. 09:02.350 --> 09:05.440 Create a use a subordinate conjunction. 09:05.440 --> 09:08.590 I have to go to the store because I need to buy milk. 09:11.190 --> 09:17.940 These are more examples of run on sentences you have example on the left in an example on the right. 09:17.990 --> 09:26.950 OK again if you feel like I'm going through some parts too quickly for you. 09:26.950 --> 09:28.300 Stop the video. 09:28.330 --> 09:30.430 Take a look and read more carefully. 09:32.550 --> 09:33.150 Sometimes yes. 09:33.150 --> 09:37.340 Be careful with missing main components of sentences right. 09:37.410 --> 09:43.770 Sentences have a subject and a predicate and very often students leave out the subject or leave out 09:43.770 --> 09:44.430 the predicate. 09:44.910 --> 09:48.800 And when you do that you're creating a grammar problem. 09:49.170 --> 09:55.440 Subject verb agreement write in order for a sentence to be grammatically correct is subject and corresponding 09:55.440 --> 09:59.440 verb must agree right they must agree. 10:00.100 --> 10:06.310 So this is a big big problem for students and now for most students if I asked them the rule they know 10:06.310 --> 10:07.330 the rule. 10:07.510 --> 10:10.860 But what most students have trouble with is performance of the rule. 10:12.090 --> 10:19.350 Now performance of the rule gets better if you're doing focused practice right. 10:19.370 --> 10:24.530 If you're doing focus the practice so sometimes you might write a paragraph and if you have problems 10:24.530 --> 10:30.800 with subject verb agreement you might say you know what when I write this program for this program when 10:30.800 --> 10:36.510 I write this paragraph I'm going to just focus on my subject verb agreement. 10:36.770 --> 10:42.860 I'm going to be mindful and focus on my subject verb agreement to make sure that I'm able to get it 10:42.890 --> 10:48.170 correct and perfect my ability to do that. 10:48.170 --> 10:55.990 Here are some examples of subject verb agreement errors look at example one and look at example to right 10:56.020 --> 11:03.980 see if you can spot the difference an important part of my life have been right it should be an important 11:03.980 --> 11:16.640 part of my life has been my life has been not my life have been they have we have right he has she has 11:18.370 --> 11:19.750 my life has 11:27.210 --> 11:34.050 adding a plural s this is another big big issue that I see sometimes the students leave off this is 11:34.050 --> 11:36.900 a grammar mistake that you had to be very careful with everybody 11:39.650 --> 11:47.330 pronouns misusing pronouns again big big grammatical problem stop here and read about this you can learn 11:47.330 --> 11:55.600 more about misusing pronouns so you can avoid making that mistake no comma after an introductory phrase 11:56.040 --> 11:56.770 right. 11:57.100 --> 12:06.350 Like while while a Thanksgiving commercial plate while a Thanksgiving you have to make sure that you 12:06.350 --> 12:13.720 have your karma right so while a Thanksgiving commercial plate on the TV right. 12:13.730 --> 12:17.800 That's the introductory phrase All right. 12:17.810 --> 12:23.720 While the Thanksgiving commercial played on the TV network the introductory phrase is also a dependent 12:23.720 --> 12:26.200 clause right. 12:26.240 --> 12:29.020 So is the introductory phrase and deepening clause. 12:29.030 --> 12:32.480 And that means we need to have a comma after TV. 12:32.480 --> 12:38.030 You must have a comma after TV split infinitives. 12:38.030 --> 12:41.440 This is really really really technical here. 12:41.710 --> 12:48.680 Right is not really grammatically wrong is more about style and what sounds better right. 12:48.710 --> 12:55.700 So when you see something where a sincere or incorrect is not grammatically incorrect it's just stylistically 12:55.700 --> 12:56.870 incorrect. 12:57.230 --> 12:59.930 OK is stylistically incorrect 13:03.020 --> 13:07.910 and your dangly modifiers namely modifiers are a big problem. 13:07.910 --> 13:16.500 Look at this example down here by studying hard grades will be improved contain that contains a dangly 13:16.500 --> 13:21.770 modifier because it doesn't identify who will be studying hard. 13:23.670 --> 13:26.010 So look at the revised sentence here. 13:26.010 --> 13:28.980 When students study hard their grades will improve. 13:30.750 --> 13:37.870 Right dangling modifier means is hanging is hanging there but is not being said 13:41.020 --> 13:42.030 right. 13:42.100 --> 13:43.710 It does is not there. 13:43.780 --> 13:50.750 It has to be there is missing is a dangly model of dangling modifier. 13:50.870 --> 13:52.390 Be careful with your word choice. 13:52.400 --> 13:54.980 Mistakes missed use words. 13:54.980 --> 14:00.560 Example there were adverse adverse effects and it should be there were adverse effects. 14:00.560 --> 14:05.660 I see a lot of word choice mistakes so you have to be careful with that. 14:05.660 --> 14:08.540 Be careful with unwanted connotations or meanings. 14:08.540 --> 14:10.350 I see this a lot. 14:10.390 --> 14:17.190 Example I sprayed the ants in their personal places yeah that's grammatically correct but it doesn't 14:17.190 --> 14:19.210 have any real meaning. 14:19.360 --> 14:22.360 Right you're not spraying them in their personal places. 14:22.360 --> 14:25.000 I sprayed the ants in their hiding places. 14:25.260 --> 14:26.610 Again those are were. 14:26.640 --> 14:34.290 Those are connotation mistakes connotation mistakes and sometimes if you only have one of them it's 14:34.290 --> 14:42.270 OK but sometimes I read essays and people have ten ten connotation mistakes and when you have that many 14:42.270 --> 14:49.890 connotation mistakes with word choice that means that you're having issues with using the English language 14:50.010 --> 14:54.060 properly and that's what lowers your score. 14:54.600 --> 14:58.710 Complex words where a shorter or simpler word will do 15:02.300 --> 15:02.780 OK. 15:03.190 --> 15:12.460 So a lot of times people try to use these big words these big big words and sometimes I'm writing I'm 15:12.470 --> 15:18.210 right I'm making comments to students and I'm saying I have no idea what you're talking about right. 15:18.230 --> 15:26.150 Because you're using some big complex word and you're not using it correctly or is contextually used 15:26.150 --> 15:29.390 incorrectly. 15:29.390 --> 15:33.230 Be careful with awkward word choice mistakes right. 15:33.230 --> 15:38.780 You can take a look at this example the revision and the reason for the change and get an example of 15:38.780 --> 15:39.770 what I'm talking about. 15:39.950 --> 15:47.720 In terms of awkward word choice words that are similar to each other but convey the wrong meaning. 15:47.900 --> 15:52.530 Again look of the example the revision and the reason for the change. 15:52.540 --> 15:54.490 So you can understand what that means. 15:56.230 --> 16:00.500 Words that convey finer shades of meaning OK. 16:01.630 --> 16:05.380 This again this is where it gets a little bit more more technical. 16:06.720 --> 16:14.340 But look here previously a substantial number of patients with A.S.A.P. were defined as having previously 16:14.340 --> 16:20.390 a substantial number of patients with ASCAP were diagnosed as having right. 16:20.760 --> 16:28.790 Again were defined as having is not really stylistically contextually correct. 16:29.040 --> 16:29.540 Right. 16:29.550 --> 16:32.150 The word you should be using is diagnosed. 16:32.220 --> 16:40.650 Now what I'm talking about are the things that make a difference between somebody that gets an intermediate 16:40.650 --> 16:47.700 level score right or mid range score and somebody that gets a really high level score. 16:47.730 --> 16:53.160 These are the kind of things that make a difference and some of you are not seeing all these things 16:53.160 --> 16:54.720 I'm talking about. 16:54.720 --> 17:01.020 These are the kind of things that people are doing that are scoring on the upper scale of the rubric 17:01.680 --> 17:02.270 right. 17:02.280 --> 17:07.950 If you're not able to do these things I'm talking about and do these things consistently. 17:08.190 --> 17:14.710 You're gonna have a little bit of trouble scoring on the upper scale of the rubric right. 17:14.730 --> 17:21.440 So if you want to learn more about avoiding mistakes right. 17:21.450 --> 17:22.520 You can get more help. 17:22.650 --> 17:24.390 An attachment. 17:24.810 --> 17:30.510 And if you follow that attachment there's a link to a grammar diagnostic test you can take that grammar 17:30.510 --> 17:39.840 diagnostic test and you can learn a lot more about your grammar issues and also after you take that 17:39.840 --> 17:47.440 diagnostic test they give you rule advice on how to correct your grammar mistakes. 17:47.460 --> 17:50.040 OK so I hope this is front. 17:50.070 --> 17:51.620 I hope this was helpful for you. 17:53.730 --> 18:01.980 Because I've talked a lot about your your general English needs to really match your skills that you're 18:01.980 --> 18:03.100 learning in the course. 18:03.120 --> 18:03.540 Right. 18:03.870 --> 18:06.870 So I just wanted to mention these things briefly. 18:06.870 --> 18:10.030 This is not a general English course right. 18:10.040 --> 18:15.870 I'll focus more on the strategies and tactics you need for the exam but I just wanted to mention some 18:15.870 --> 18:21.420 of these things because these are issues that come up that some of you need to really go out and do 18:21.420 --> 18:24.190 some more investigation and correct within your writing. 18:24.390 --> 18:24.820 OK. 18:25.140 --> 18:25.950 So take care.